1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to implantable medical devices and, more particularly, to a system for rapidly and accurately completing sound electrical connections with such devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Permanent, implanted cardiac pacemakers can save or lengthen the lives of persons with various cardiac diseases. Today, the principal indications for permanent pacing are complete heart block, intermittent heart block, sick sinus syndrome and other cardiac arrhythmias. The increased use of pacemakers has been paralleled by greater pacemaker reliability and sophistication. Progress in miniaturization of electronic components has made it possible to reliably build smaller, more physiological pacemakers. The initial premise, the use of electrical stimulation to assist the heart, has proven to be a lifesaving and life-enriching idea for pacemaker recipients worldwide.
Because of the great benefits to mankind provided by heart pacemakers and associated electronic implantable medical devices including defibrillators and cardioverters, there is a continuing effort to improve their reliability while reducing their cost so as to make them available to an ever broader range of the population. Currently, the electronic circuitry for implantable medical devices such as a pacemaker is connected to the proximal end of the pacemaker lead via feedthroughs while using flexible interconnect circuitry or discrete wires. The battery is also connected by the same technique. This interconnect scheme generally uses soldering or resistance welding to connect the power source, electronics, and device outputs. It is primarily dependent on operators who typically use a microscope or other magnification device because of the miniaturized components, tweezers, and sophisticated tooling. This operator dependence prevents the use of automation and thereby results in an extremely labor intensive and costly process.